


He Swore He Saw Things In The Dark

by orphan_account



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Birthday, F/M, Fluff, Moving On, Nightmares, PTSD, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 18:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20550521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “We all think we see things in the dark Shuichi, but you have to remember that they’re not actually there.” Maki said with an honest smile.Shuichi liked to sit in the dark, but it tended to skew his vision.





	He Swore He Saw Things In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> A small birthday one shot for Shuichi coz I love him and I love these kids.

Shuichi sat alone, in the darkness of his living room, waiting the time away. It had been years since the killing game, yet he still thought about it.

There was a faint sound of ticking coming from the old grandfather clock behind him that Maki had bought from an old antique store. 

He swore that with each swing of the pendulum, he could see Kaede’s lifeless body dangling from it. 

It was those kind of things that still haunted him. Every now and then he’d get something that would vaguely remind him of the horrific incidents he had to endure in order to survive, and every time it would sadden him that bit more and lead to his hand reaching for a cigarette. 

Which is what he was doing now, reaching for his cigarette box and moving over to the window. He gently grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the window open, making sure that it wouldn’t wake Maki or Himiko. 

After they had escaped he had had premonitions about nights like these. Cold, solemn nights, the only thing awake at this hour was him, and he was hanging out the window of his house that sat upon a hill overlooking the city. 

That’s what he enjoyed about this house, he could see everything from the comfort of his own home. Even if sometimes it wasn’t so comfortable. Yet as he looked down at everything, he was reminded he wasn’t alone at this hour, only in his head. 

He sat the cigarette between his lips, lighting it and taking a long, painful drag; the paper being reduced to cinders as he did so. Shuichi exhaled, letting out all the smoke, worries and nightmares that suffocated him; he stopped holding his breath. 

“Shuichi?” A hoarse voice called out quietly from the doorway. He turned to see Maki with tired eyes, skimpily dressed in a satin black gown, adorning a small smile, and holding a small black bag with a red ribbon tying it together. 

He immediately snubbed out the cigarette and got excited at the sight of her up this late. “What’s that?” He asked, moving towards her. She giggled and passed the bag over to him, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear. 

He smiled softly and shyly inspected the bag, dragging his thumb across the fabric. Maki rolled her eyes and giggled at how shy he got at her little affections. 

“Just open it, please.” She moved over to the window to close it shut. Shuichi’s eyes flicked back and forth between Maki and the bag, he giggled before pulling the string on the ribbon, the red fabric coming loose almost immediately.

Inside he pulled out a box of aftershave, a designer cap and a small leather box. He pulled it out and flicked it open, revealing a gorgeous gold watch inside. 

“Maki, this is too-“

“Wait there’s something else in there.” She almost sang much to his surprise. He nodded again and smiled, dipping his hand into the bag and pulling out a card. 

He flicked it open with his thumb and immediately smiled at its contents. 

_Happy birthday Shuichi,_

_I know it’s still hard for you,_

_but that’s okay, _

_because I still love you._

_-Maki xx_

Shuichi began slowly packing the bag without a word, causing Maki to quirk her eyebrow at him in confusion. 

He sharply turned his head, dipping his head down to kiss her on the lips. She leaned into it with a little too much enthusiasm and gained a moan from him by accident. She slowly opened her eyes as he pulled away, their shared passion lingering on her lips. 

“Happy birthday...” she breathed, gently stroking his cheek and taking the bag from his hand, placing it on the kitchen counter. He smiled as he looked down at her and he swore her face was parallel to the way she used to look at Kaito. 

“What is it?” She asked, her face morphing into a look of concern as he stared down at her without a word. He swore her face was parallel to during some of the class trials when he had made a risky decision. 

“It’s nothing, sorry.” He shook his head and pulled away, placing his presents back into the bag on the table. Shuichi strolled back over to the window and picked up his snubbed out cigarette, relighting it as he opened the window back up. 

“Even though it was nice to be able to give you you’re gift right now, why’re you still up?” Maki asked, opting to pick up the cigarette packet and gesture for him to go onto the balcony at the back of their kitchen. 

He complied and the two of them tiptoed out onto it, the small but sturdy space supporting the two of them as they down over the blinking lights of the city. 

Maki pulled another cigarette from the packet, lighting it and taking a quick draw, puffing the smoke back out from between her lips. “So are you gonna tell me why you’re up this late?” She asked, leaning over the balcony. 

“It’s just that...” he swore he could see Korekiyo’s spirit floating over the city and being snuffed out by an evil monokuma. “I just couldn’t sleep.” He sighed, taking another drag. 

“I know it’s hard for you to move on... _shit_, it’s hard for me and Himiko too, but all we can do is try.” Maki quirked on eyebrow up before quickly dropping it again. She looked up at the sea of stars in the sky, and swore she could see Kaito’s rocket falling back down.

Shuichi stayed quiet. He knew she was right, she told him so many times that he always knew she was right, but he was trying, and he was failing. 

“But every time I fall asleep next you, I’m happy... I’m actually happy...” she said blissfully, looking down at the street below, to see a drunk man lying in the street, just like Rantaro had once lay in the library. 

“And suddenly, all the horrors and nightmares, all the trauma, just feels like a _bad dream_ I’ve finally woke up from...” Maki smiled, taking another long drag from her cigarette before flicking the ash from the tip. 

Shuichi suspected she wasn’t done talking, so he stayed quiet and watched as a plane flew past, that vaguely reminded him of Kiibo soaring through the academy, breaking everything apart. 

“But every time you come down here to brood alone, I feel like we’re right back to _square-fucking-one_...” she groaned, turning her head slowly towards him. 

“We all think we see things in the dark Shuichi, but you have to remember that they’re not actually there.” Maki said with an honest smile. She wasn’t saying any of this to be mean, no, she just wanted to help him. She wanted to help him out of the darkness he kept stumbling back into. 

Shuichi took one final drag before flicking the cigarette over the side of the balcony, catching a glimpse of a large comfy seat on the ground, and for a moment he swore he could see Miu grasping for air.

Shuichi moved over to her, hugging her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head in the crook of her neck. He began to place small kisses, finding it irresistible to do that each time. She giggled and lifted a hand up to run her hand through his hair. 

“I’m sorry, I’am trying, but it’s not easy.” He said hoarsely, his voice cracking from the cold of the night. The brunette looked over to see a small man talking to a female bartender before the man turned his back to her. For a moment she swore she saw Kirumi raising a wooden slat to strike him down. 

“You don’t smoke as much as before.” Shuichi commented on Maki’s wasted cigarette, the ash piling up at the tip. Maki giggled and flicked the ash off “Just doesn’t have the same appeal as before.” 

Shuichi chuckled and nuzzled into her neck, he saw a huge man with bulging muscles walk past and for a moment he thought he saw Gonta. There was another two girls arguing in the street and they hazily reminded him of Angie and Tenko. 

There was another small boy he could see in the back alley of some bar, doing some sort of shady deal with a grin on his face. He would’ve believed it was Kokichi if someone told him so.

Maki flicked the cigarette over the side, leaving only the city lights bouncing up to reflect off of their bodies. Maki moved Shuichi’s head and spun around, snaking her arms around his neck. 

Shuichi let out a small sigh and smiled happily. “Even after everything, I can say one thing.” He smirked, gently dragging his thumb across her waist. “And what’s that?” She said teasingly, a teasing smile making its way onto her face. 

“I love you, and I don’t know what I’d do without you... and I don’t tell you that enough.” He giggled, bringing one hand up to cup her face. “Well, that was actually two things; two things that I’ve only heard before when you want something.” She continued to smile, and pushed on the back of his head to tempt him down towards her. 

“So it’s been two years, where’s my ring?” She said jokingly, closing her eyes as Shuichi placed a soft kiss on her lips and placing a hand on his chest to keep him from toppling them both over the balcony. 

Shuichi smiled as he pulled back and brought his hand up to hold the one on his chest. He circled his thumb and index finger around her ring finger, chuckling at how small her hand was compared to his. 

“There’s your ring right there, I hope you like it.” He chuckled, a light pink dusting his cheeks. “I love it,” she joked, leaning up to give him a chaste kiss “and I love you.” 

Shuichi laughed again and leaned back down to kiss her again, this time a bit more forceful than before. She didn’t complain, she just reciprocated and enjoyed the moment, it was his birthday after all. 

Shuichi pulled away with half lidded eyes, before dropping his head down to kiss along her jawline before coming back up to face her. “Why don’t you show me how much you love me and come back to bed, then we can wake in a few hours a little less tired.” She said hopefully. 

“I’ve got a few other ideas to show how much I love you.” He said cheekily, reaching his hand down to squeeze her ass, causing her to squeal and slap his chest. “Fine but don’t complain if you’re tired tomorrow.” She agreed and smiled warmly. 

It was then that a bedroom light came on above them, illuminating the back of Shuichi’s head, and causing them both to sigh dejectedly. “It feels like she does this on purpose.” Shuichi grinned, turning slightly to look up at the window. 

“Tomorrow night then?” She whispered, just in case Himiko was listening in. “Deal.” Shuichi grinned, still holding her hands as he walked backwards towards the doorway. 

The two disappeared back inside, but before they did, they swore they saw a glimmer of a girl looking up at them, their face hidden by their glasses and the darkness. But this time they didn’t dwindle on it, they didn’t care. 

Because they swore they loved each other and that they were going to move on from this. They were finally turning on a light to shun away the darkness. 


End file.
